MOUNTAIN VIEW COUNTY - County council has carried a motion instructing administration to explore the potential costs of undertaking river bank stabilization work at the county-owned Westward Ho campground east of Sundre.
The move came during the Sept. 6 regularly scheduled council meeting following an earlier delegation appearance by Westward Ho Campers Association officials.
Located on the Little Red Deer River south of Highway 27, the campground currently has 315 yearly sites and about 60 weekend sites. The association operates the campground under a 10-year lease.
The motion states: “That administration prepare a project sheet for the 2024 budget to explore Westward Ho bank stabilization options,”
The project sheet would include an estimated cost of engineering and what future projects could entail, said chief administrative officer Jeff Holmes.
Reeve Angela Aalbers added, “It will give us a ball-park figure, so for instances if the project comes back as a million dollars we will have an idea or if it come back as one hundred thousand dollars. At least we will have more information on how to move this project forward.
“If council determines that we don’t have enough information to deliberate the project sheet, we can push it to 2025. That will be our discussion at the time.”
The motion to prepare the project sheet came after council received a copy of a $7,000 report regarding erosion at the campground.
Cascade Water Resources Inc. was retained by the campers association to prepare the mobility and stabilization report, which concluded that approximately 460 metres of bank stabilization is needed to protect areas of concern at the facility.
The report did not include an estimated cost for the recommended bank stabilization.
